WB5 Causing Icons to be spaced WAY too far apart

from Stardock Forums
So I bought WB5 soon after it came out, and have loved it really.  But most recently, I've noticed that after each reboot that the spacing on the desktop icons, AND the icons within Explorer (ie folder icons, etc...) have gotten spaced farther apart.  This didn't bother me at first, but after rebooting tons of times, it's gotten to the point of just ridiculous.  Now I have even uninstalled, reinstalled (after reboot of course) and the issue still does not go away.  I have updated to the latest build of 5.01 but it actually happens with the original 5.0 build.  I have even formatted Windows a few times, and the problem didn't start until I installed WB5.  I have even installed x64 to see if the problem persists, and indeed it does.  This is just getting WAY too frustrating to deal with now, and I NEED this fixed.  Please see the screenshot below to see how bad it is (and it keeps growing with each reboot).
 
 
Below are the notes from WB5:
 
WindowBlinds 5.0 System Information Report:

STATUS : WB+ SRV~ HLP+ UI+ TRAY+
WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC.
WindowBlinds appears to be activated on this PC
Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.
 
You have 2 monitors. 

(Default Monitor) 1 is attached to NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT by www.TweaksRUs.com
(Default Monitor) 2 is attached to NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT by www.TweaksRUs.com
 
Wblind.dll      2006/03/21 13:33:46
Wbsrv.dll      2006/03/17 11:16:44
Wbconfig.exe       2006/03/19 14:33:44
Wbload.exe      2006/03/13 17:54:12
Wbhelp.dll      2004/09/18 16:37:00
Wbui.dll      2005/12/06 21:29:06
Tray.dll      2005/11/02 13:28:26
14,660 views 50 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Your post is showing up well Jason. Be cool. If someone can help they will. If no one responds with help email support@stardock.com

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Thats certainly not something I have ever seen before.

If you set WB to be disabled and then reboot, does the problem still happen?

It looks like the icon spacing registry value is being altered by something, but WB does not touch those values.  Do you have IconPackager installed?

Groupy 2 - Organize multiple applications into grouped tabs on your Windows desktop
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Do you have IconPackager installed?


Sure Neil, blame it on IP.

{Neil sits at his terminal, pounding madly to recompile a fix and use the secret backdoor to push the fixed build to Jason. He tells Jason to reboot so he can have a little more time to go through QA}

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Honestly no, I do not have IP installed at all.  What I'm really thinking is, it's an interaction with nVidia drivers as I previously had a 6800 Ultra video card, and now I have a 7900GT, still with the same problem.  But honestly, I have even unloaded WB, uninstalled it, deleted the Program Files folder, and rebooted; the issue still occurs.  I have reformatted recently to x64, but did not install WB5 at first.  After several reboots, the issue did not happen at all.  Then I installed WB5.01 and after a few reboots, BAM happened yet again.  Now it's as bad as a few of my icons are being placed on the second monitor now (worse than you see it in the SS).  It might be a registry entry, but what key is it, and what would make it continuously grow like that?  What makes me really worried is that no one else has this issue, so it's not exactly like a new beta version will fix something that hasn't been seen before.  I recently changed hardware too (though the same issue happened on the old hardware), motherboard, video card, etc...so it has to be something with WB5 as this does not occur until I install WB5 then reboot a few times (not in a row).  Thanks for taking the time to look at this thread and hopefully get this issue fixed for me.
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
DisplayProperties / Appearance tab / Advanced / Other Advanced Contols / Item (drop-down menu) / Icon Spacing.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
well now, if that's the case, what's the default value it should be?  And I can honestly say that I have not messed with any of those settings before, so it has to be something with WB5 causing this as the issue does not occur until WB5 is installed.  I will test it when I get home to verify if it works or not.  Thanks.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Try these: H = 27 V = 27 Icon = 48
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
Again, I'll try these when I get home in about an hour, and will report back.  If this fixes it, I truly appreciate you figuring this out.  To the WB people, please see if you can find out what's causing this, as it does not happen until WB is installed.  Thanks again
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I have this same problem >_>. I had an old nVidia card (can't remember what #) and got a new one (5200) a few weeks ago. Nothing fancy, but it works for me. I started having this problem after installing a WB skin (Novum OS) and using that. Now no matter what skin I use, it spaces the icons . I can move them back into normal spacing tho.

It's not a big deal for me, but a fix would be nice >_o. Just letting you know you're not alone .

(also, as for the H/V spacing you guys are talking about... that didn't work for me >_>)
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Also, my problem is only with the desktop icons. Not the folder icons >_o
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
BTW, I use the "Icons" view in Explorer, it's perfectly fine if I use Tile or another view.
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
Ok, that fix did not work for me.  So I'm out of ideas now.  It's anyone's guess now.  Sigh, this is really pissing me off
Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top
Well, I rebooted my PC after doing that "fix" and it seemed to work, however...After each reboot, the number keeps growing, so it's a "fix", but not a permanent fix.  So it is an issue with WB5.
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Just curious, I noticed your is listed as by "ww.tweaksRus.com" is that a standard Nvidia driver or is it possible it's the culprit.
Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top
It's a customized driver (only the INF is modified actually), but I have had the exact same issue on standard nVidia drivers, so that's not the issue.
Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top
Well I find it really funny that not even support@stardock.com has offered support to me, or responded to my e-mails.  I'm getting extremely fed up with with, and the lack of support for this product really makes me not want to use this damn damn product anymore.  what a waste of $20 indeed.
Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top
Well I find it really funny that not even support@stardock.com has offered support to me, or responded to my e-mails.  I'm getting extremely fed up with with, and the lack of support for this product really makes me not want to use this damn damn product anymore.  what a waste of $20 indeed. 
Reply #18 from Stardock Forums Top
Well I find it really funny that not even support@stardock.com has offered support to me, or responded to my e-mails.  I'm getting extremely fed up with with, and the lack of support for this product really makes me not want to use this damn damn product anymore.  what a waste of $20 indeed.  Thanks for
Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top

The fact that it continues after WB has been uninstalled suggests WB itself is not changing that registry value (which is logical given WB does not have that capability), something else on the PC is.  Now why the install of WB would trigger it is an interesting question.

I would ensure things like nvidia nView are disabled as they may be causing this problem.

Regarding mails to support, have you got any reply mails at all?  Even automated ones.  If you have had no replies at all then chances are your e-mail provider is blocking mails from Stardock, or Stardocks spam filter is rejecting your mail as spam for some reason.

Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Jason,

I suggest trying to work with Neil on this one, he is a WB developer and would be your best bet to sort it.

For my part, I would probably try running a single monitor set-up for a day with WB installed and applied to see if it has anything to do with the dual monitor set-up (and associated drivers).

Reply #22 from Stardock Forums Top
Now seriously, if this issue does not happen UNTIL I install WB5, doesn't that point to it being a WB5 problem???  And honestly, I wont take my second monitor down because it's a WindowBlinds issue.  Seriously people, I know what the hell I'm talking about there, I've been using computers for ages.  Put two and two together, how can this be a Windows issue if it doesn't happen until WB5 is installed?  As I said before, I truly believe this is an issue with nVidia drivers as that's all I've ever used.  It's not a specific version of Windows, as it happens with x64 as well.  And please stop with the basic troubleshooting, telling me to reboot, etc...it's just not helping at all.  Blah Blah Blah, nView is disabled, always has been.  The reason why it stayed exactly the same after uninstalling is because WB5 changes the icon spacing value after each reboot; if I uninstall it, I'm 99% sure it will stop growing, and if I change the value back, HEY...it would stop growing, and the issue would be fixed.  Honestly, the reason why I'm so upset at this, is because I've been dealing with this issue since WB5 first came out, and have yet to see a post on it; and when I did finally post, no one responded, or gave me some crappy "basic troubleshooting" answers that wasn't going to help anyone.  I mean $20 doesn't buy you a lot of support, sure, but I wasn't expecting to be almost completely ignored.  Hell EA has better support than this...And now you guys can see that I'm not the only one with this issue, so unless I'm completely crazy, this is a serious issue and should be worked on, even if it is a smaller bug.

 

About the e-mail issue, unless GMail considers Stardock to be SPAM, I have not recieved a SINGLE response (let alone automated one) from the "glorious" tech support.  The fact that you responded to my post is surprising, but appreciative; but seriously, quit with the basic troubleshooting crap and actually work on the problem, not some temp fixes that I don't need.
Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Jason, expect no help from me. Your attitude sucks. Basic troubleshooting is basic for a reason. You do it, you check it off the list and move on to more esoteric options.

Your refusal to use the softwaare without removing your second monitor for a while is indicative that you don't want help. Stardock can not be expected to test your config for you.

I get stardock mail at my gmail address abd they have recieved my emails. And gmail flagged spam goes to my spam folder, I check it once in a while and unflag as neccessary. Sounds like you have a problem.

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central
Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Also, you can check your cases via the Knowledge base. If you don't see your emailed cases, create one here.

https://www.stardock.helpserve.com

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central
Reply #25 from Stardock Forums Top
Ok, really, How would disabling my second monitor magically fix this problem?  IF it is an issue with dual monitors and WB5, then maybe they should have coded the program to actually work with it.  I have plenty of other complaints with WB, but these are completely minor in comparison to this.  And seriously, if I knew what I was talking about, don't you think that I would have already done this basic troubleshooting???  I told you guys already, I'm upset about this becuase I'm getting no where EXTREMELY fast.  The only thing that was actually worth while out of the 23 posts (including 4 succesive posts from me because the forums crapped out) was the guy telling me how to change the icon spacing in the Display Properties.  How would you feel if you bought a piece of software (and didn't download a crack for it) and it started causing you problems, then when you actually report the issue, you get ignored, or they tell you basic crap that you have already done.  If you feel my attitude is crap, that's fine, but I'll say that I'm completely disappointed with the support that I've received for a product that I actually purchased, $20 or not.  If I could fix this issue, I would in a heartbeat; but the only logical thing to do now is either, not use WB5 (and request my money back) or wait 10 or so years for someone to come up with a permanant fix (which I find highly unlikely).

 

*edit*

Well according to that page, they received my e-mail yesterday, even though I e-mailed them on the 14th.  Awesome!